so just a few things i would have changed when it comes to the structure and narrative of the story. but none of that takes away from the vibrancy of the storytelling itself. i did enjoy this and i think its a nice conclusion to the series.

Love Elizabeth Lim’s writing! I did not enjoy this as much as I enjoyed the first book, but this was a good ending to the duology!

Title: The Dragon’s Promise
Things to know:
Second in duology
Fantasy
Romance
Strong Female lead
Synopsis: (May contain spoilers for Six Crimson Cranes)
Princess Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the dragon's pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined. She must journey to the kingdom of dragons, navigate political intrigue among humans and dragons alike, fend off thieves who covet the pearl for themselves and will go to any lengths to get it, all while cultivating the appearance of a perfect princess to dissuade those who would see her burned at the stake for the magic that runs in her blood. The pearl itself is no ordinary cargo; it thrums with malevolent power, jumping to Shiori's aid one minute, and betraying her the next—threatening to shatter her family and sever the thread of fate that binds her to her true love. It will take every ounce of strength Shiori can muster to defend the life and the love she's fought so hard to win.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Review:
I am in love with this duology. Shiori was the strong female lead that I didn’t know was missing from my life. She is so relatable. She is sarcastic and unapologetically herself.
All of the characters had such a depth to them. I really wanted to take my time with this one because I knew I would be sad when it was over… and I am.
Do yourself a favor and read this duology. Such a wonderful reimagining of a classic Chinese folktale.

I was able to read about 50% of this book before I hit a huge reading block. I just was not engaged, and I really struggled to pick it back up. After many weeks of waffling, I was able to reach 60% of the way through the book before I totally stopped. I was looking forward to this sequel because I found Six Crimson Cranes to be an interesting retelling, but the pacing in Dragon’s Promise was strange, and difficult to enjoy. Honestly, I thought the most interesting characters (Seryu and Raikama) were overlooked, and their plot lines concluded way too soon.

Thank you again for this ARC, I appreciated the opportunity to read it.

The Dragons Promise picks up where Six Crimson Cranes left off and, honestly the first 100 pages were a little slow. The parts of the book that were underwater were not as exciting as I wanted them to be and I was not a fan of the forced (in my opinion) love triangle. However, once Shiori was back on land, the book definitely picked up and became the wonderful fantasy novel that I loved. I love how Elizabeth Lim creates characters and does world building. Its definitely one of her strengths as an author, in my opinion. I will be looking forward to everything else that she creates in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review,
***
The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim is the sequel to Six Crimson’s Cranes which was one of my favorite reads of 2021, so I obviously was very much looking forward to this book, especially since I was going to see more of Seryu in this book.
This book continues where Six Crimson Cranes left off at with Shiori at the water to meet Seryu to fulfill her promise. However she’d made another promise to her stepmother before she passed that meant she wouldn’t be able to fulfill this promise so she’s already scrambling trying to figure a way out of her troubles. All the while the pearl brings more trouble for Shiori and she digs around to learn the history behind it and the last person who wielded it.
***
While this book fell a little flat for me, I still enjoyed Shiori’s adventures in the dragon kingdom and all the wonders she saw there and of course seeing more of Seryu. I also appreciated getting more background on Shiori’s stepmother and how she ended up where and how she did.

Just wow!! This was such a wonderful story. I loved how it all ended and lord I need more stories set in this world. I would love to know how the world has changed since the events in this story. And how everything has come to pass. This was a must read story that I could not put down.

I was very disappointed with this sequel because it felt like a job to finish it. I would have loved if this series was just one book instead m. I don’t think it was necessary to have the love triangle continue. Elizabeth Kim’s writing is well done, but the story isn’t there like it was with the first book.

Holy wow... I absolutely adored this series completely. Elizabeth Lim's writing is beautiful I cannot recommmend this series enough and shall be implementing both books into my curriculum for high school. I've already purchased a few paperback copies of the first part in the series and handed them out to my students. Absolutely stunning read!

The Dragon's Promise was a fun read. Shiori really grew up in the story, her connection to her family really shown in the book. Facing worst fears if anything should happen to her loved ones. I got Kdrama vibes in the first one, with Shiori and Takkan's love story witch I didn't mind. HOWEVER Seryu clearly is a second male lead, and it just didn't work for me. The cheesy trope of fake marriage to see if you really wanted the mortal kinda made it seem cheap. That aside Kiki is the best paper bird soul thing ever. Ending loved. It just gets a little draggy at times but overall adored.

A Dragon's Promise is an outstanding book that has something for everyone. It is an epic fantasy tale, full of action and adventure, but also has a deep emotional journey of self-discovery. The world-building is rich and the characters are compelling, with each character having a unique, believable arc. The writing is beautiful and the pacing is perfect, allowing the reader to be fully immersed in the story. It's a fantastic read that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for an exciting, heart-warming tale. 5 stars!

The Dragon’s Promise (Six Crimson Cranes Book 2) by Elizabeth Lim

490 Pages
Publisher: Random House Children’s, Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date; August 30, 2022

Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Teens, Young Adult, Coming of Age

In the first book, Six Crimson Cranes, Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the pearl to the rightful owner. This be the beginning of her journey. Her brothers still turn into cranes and help provide information from the skies. She journeys to the kingdom of dragons. At times the pearl appears to help her then it works against her. She must dig deep to find her own magic to save herself and the ones she loves.

The story has a steady pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the first-person point of view. The characters have grown from the first book. Shiori’s is a stronger woman as she follows her quest. If you like dragons, sci fi and fantasy books, you will enjoy this book. You must read the first book in the series before you read this book, or you will not understand what and why things are happening.

i found this to be a solid follow-up and sequel to Six Crimson Cranes. just as magical and lyrical as the first and i loved following Shiori's journey.

The second book in the duology, this time it has a different setting that added on beautifully to the magic and whimsy of the second book. I did feel like this was made to focus on one particular character and the MC’s relationship with them, that I did not feel was necessary but I still appreciated. I really liked them though.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random Hosue Children's for approving me for this ARC. Once I finished Six Crimson Cranes, I immediately wanted to pick up the sequel because I absolutely loved how Six Crimson Cranes and was excited to come back into this world. Unfortunately, this book was really disappointing. The book immediately picks up where Six Crimson Cranes ended. Having to go back into the dragon realm and return the pearl to its rightful owner only takes up the first part of the book. I don't even know what happens after that. The story takes a whole different turn, and you don't even know which way to look. There were so many characters and different plot points, you start getting confused. The book immediately takes a sudden halt and the book becomes boring, to say the least. I became very uninterested in the story. I skimmed the last twenty minutes of the book. I was just so ready to be done with it. The ending was good and rounded up the story well, but at that point, I just didn't care. Six Crimson Cranes definitely could have been a stand-alone book and it would have been perfect. As much as I want to have the duology on my shelves, I don't see myself purchasing this one to finish up my collection. If you have read this one, and plan on reading it, I do hope you enjoy it more than I did!

I enjoyed Shiori's journey of healing and self-discovery. Book one is very sweet and adventurous, and I found the Dragon's Promise to be as well. I do think the duology could have been a standalone, but I still had a good time with the sequel, and I think this story is a great entry point into the YA age range.

The Dragon’s Promise I could want in a duology. It felt familiar while giving us more. 10/10 duology. Very complete. No second book syndrome. I nearly cried.

This is the second time I've loved the first book in an Elizabeth Lim duology and not really enjoyed the second book. The Dragon's Promise felt like a lot of random ideas shoved together. I enjoyed learning more about her stepmother's past and Kiki was as enjoyable as ever, but I just wasn't invested in this one. I held on until the end and I'm glad I did because the end was actually really good. I just think this would have been better as one longer book instead of a duology. It felt like this book was full of unnecessary scenes that didn't add much to the story. 2.75 stars.

Thank you to PRH International for providing me with an e-arc of this book.

In my review of book 1: Six Crimson Cranes, I remember mentioning that there is potential for improvement in the sequel...I’ve never been more wrong.


The Dragon’s Promise is a very inconsistent story. Where even was the story! The plot-line was all over the place and conflicts seemed to resolve themselves so conveniently that it got a bit trivial. I sometimes did not even comprehend what was going on, given how rushed and/or confusing the events and the writing were. Honestly, I’m so disappointed.

I’m mostly disappointed because this had great potential! The world and the characters are fun to read about, and it is just a lighthearted fantasy duology that is easy to read..yet the inconsistency of the events and just the lack of a main focus in the plot, as well as the introduction of characters only for them to appear in two-three scenes and then leave us with the same few characters that we already know, I don’t know it felt very unprofessional.

There are fascinating bits and lots of talk about fate and love and family, so it is not the worst book ever. Just disappointing.

❗️Spoiler❗️

What interested me most was the ending. I found the deal made at the end so beautiful and fascinating, and I wished we could have seen at least a part of Shiori’s life on the moon. I mean the book dragged on for so long..it might as well had a few more chapters before the epilogue, they would have been interesting at least.

This is such an incredible tale. I had such a fun time reading this book. It was a wonderful continuation of the story. I did not want to ever put this book down.